Georgia's Nicolas Claxton declares for NBA draft

Friday

ATHENS — Throughout his breakout sophomore season, Nicolas Claxton was described by opposing coaches as a player who had an NBA future.

The Georgia forward will find out in the weeks ahead if he’s ready to try to make that jump now.

Claxton declared for the NBA draft Friday, but the school said the door isn’t closed on him returning to the Bulldogs next season if he chooses. He would be a key piece for a team that could contend for an NCAA Tournament bid.

“Nic has done a very good job of staying in the PRESENT while getting feedback and exploring his options for the future,” coach Tom Crean said on the team’s Twitter account. “The maturity of staying focused is impressive. We will continue to help solicit feedback and be insightful and supportive through everything.”

“First I want to thank God for giving me this opportunity and blessing me to be in this position,” Claxton said in a statement he posted on his Twitter account Friday evening. “I want to thank my family, coaches and trainers for always believing in me and pushing me to be the best player and person that I can be. I want to thank Dawgnation for welcoming me with open arms. No matter what, I will always be a Georgia Bulldog for life. With that being said, I will be entering me name in the 2019 NBA Draft. #GoDawgs.”

Under NCAA rules now, players who declare for the draft can sign with a certified agent to guide them through the draft process and still retain eligibility if he decides to return to school.

“I like it, but the most important thing is more the significant people in their lives that are helping them with the decision,” Crean said earlier this month. “In Nic’s case, he’s got an incredible family and support system amongst that.”

The 6-foot-11, 220-pound Claxton, from Greenville, S.C., has taken part in offseason team workouts with returning Georgia players the last few weeks and attended classes, an approach that has impressed Crean.

“He’s done a fantastic job in every area,” Crean said. “We are proud of him and supportive of his decision. Nic’s future is very bright.”

Claxton sought an evaluation from an NBA undergraduate committee and Crean also sought out feedback with contacts in the NBA with general managers and others in team personnel. Claxton's father, former Georgia player Charles Claxton, was a second-round NBA draft pick in 1994.

Nicolas Claxton is ranked as the No. 40 overall prospect for 2019 by ESPN.com.

“That’s obviously pretty fluid at this stage,” ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony said in an interview. “Who is ready from this group besides Zion (Williamson), (Ja) Morant and (RJ) Barrett? The question is where is the NBA ready to pick him and how prepared is he physically and emotionally and maturity-wise. The question to me is, where do you want to develop? Do you want to develop in the G League or do you want to develop playing college basketball? And what would another year do for your stock playing with (five-star signee) Anthony Edwards. I think they’re going to be pretty good next year. They look like they have an NCAA Tournament team. I think they may have more pieces coming in.”

The NCAA deadline to decide whether to stay in the draft is May 29.

“My belief always is get them the most honest, thorough but real information that they can get,” Crean said. “That’s why you try to stay away from the dot coms, projections and stay away from rumors and try to stay as strong as you can of getting a case study of real information that they can make decisions off of. That’s what I see as part of my responsibility.”

Yante Maten put his name in the early entry pool after his junior season at Georgia in 2017 and worked out for NBA teams. He returned to become SEC player of the year in his senior season and then went undrafted. After being on a two-way contract when he played in the G-League, Maten signed with the Miami Heat this month.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said during the season that Claxton is “absolutely a next-level player. He’s got unbelievable length, his skill set has improved, but I thing the biggest area is he’s grown up. ... He’s a little stronger, he’s playing hard, he’s playing tough, he’s playing aggressively. He’s not afraid to fail.”

“I was impressed with the role he had this year, playing a lot of point guard, he was utilized very creatively.” Givony said. “That really gives you a chance to develop your skill set and expand your game. The question really for him is strength. Being an SEC school, they probably have very good resources there to develop in that regard. It really comes down to a personal preference, the financial situation, how much do you like school?”

Claxton, a second-team All-SEC pick by the coaches, mentioned getting bulkier among what he wants to work on going forward.

“Just being able to read the game, I got a lot of attention this year offensively,” Claxton said after Georgia’s season ended with a loss on the opening night of the SEC tournament. “Just being able to find my teammates in different ways to get the passes to them. And getting stronger of course, my body. Just continue to get stronger and develop my shot, having that consistency in my shot.”

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.